Echoes of a Mourning Nation: How the Struggle Between Economic Power and Cultural Identity Impoverished the Sioux Tribes

Abstract

Historical timelines concerning the encroachment on Lakota lands and liberties by the United States government rely predominantly on the militant endeavors of The Great Sioux War and the Massacre at Wounded Knee as the two catalytic events that diminished and impoverished the Lakota Sioux Nations. However, accepting this storyline neglects the crucial decade between these battles and how the political conflicts between the United States and Lakota leaders greatly determined the devastating circumstances of a nation impoverished, struggling to keep their families fed and their heritage alive. This research paper examines how the tumultuous events within the diminishing Sioux reservations of the 1880s led to the destitute Indian nation’s culturally united uprising against the US and their failed attempts of assimilation.